November Books

Wow, five fiction books this month. I remember a few years ago when I read hardly any fiction the entire year. I used to almost only read fiction.  I'm more than halfway through two other books (a memoir, and a non-fiction), but I only list here books I finished within the month.  Hard to believe that tomorrow is December 1.

 

 

The Passions of Chelsea Kane by Barbara Delinsky -- a book I found at a book exchange; a lady goes to a small New England town in search of the story around her adoption nearly four decades prior. Somewhat interesting story (I like the part about patriarchal small towns...just because I find small communities of interest), but I could have done without some of the details in other areas of this book.

House Rules by Jodi Picoult -- I enjoyed this book about a teenager with Asperger's syndrome!  I have a few friends with children on the spectrum so this was a really interesting read to me.  As the book jacket states, this book "looks at what it means to be different in our society, how autism affects a family, and how our legal system works well for people who communicate a certain way - and fails those who don't." 

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead -- earlier this year I got a small notebook which I've used for keeping up with books recommended by blogger friends. Crystal mentioned this particular one back in September, and I finally went by the library and got it.  It was short enough to read in a couple of hours, and I enjoyed the break reading this YA book brought.  Can't say I followed the time travel talk, but I liked other aspects of it.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata -- This story is told through the eyes of a Japanese-American girl, Katie, as she moved from Iowa to Georgia around 1960.  I found it on the Newberry shelf while searching for the book above.  An easy read, and pretty interesting to hear about life through her eyes. Since I have lived in the South all my life, I try to think of how I would treat people who are different than I.  Would I welcome a Japanese family into my life? Would I say hello on the street or would I ignore them?  I'd like to think I would be friendly and welcoming back then, and it challenges me to be that way today to people who may be less welcomed by society.

Jane Austen in Scarsdale or Love, Death, and the SATs by Paula Marantz Cohen -- an easy read I found in the library. I learned quite a bit about the job of a guidance counselor and how they help students preparing for college. The main character is a guidance counselor in a rich public school. This book is also about her meeting up with her long, lost boyfriend...that sort of thing.